Coboconk is the home of Canada’s smallest jail. At 4.57 m by 8.84 m (26.68 m2), it is certainly among North America’s smallest jails.
The Coby Jail has 2-foot-thick (0.61 m) limestone walls mined from the local quarry. These, along with the iron bars, remain unchanged since the construction of the jail in 1884. Inside the jail were two cells. The sole constable of the jail, Joseph Wakelin, was appointed in 1899 and retired in 1922.
It is now a designated heritage site and museum named Ye Olde Jailhouse.
Photos: Vlad Umnov
4 Responses
Rodney, Ontario, Ye Olde Jail, is smaller than Coboconk. I believe it’s ranked smallest in all of Ontario, if not all of Canada.
Thank you, Courtney
I grew up in a small town of roughly 200 permanent residents. I’m almost positive that the first jail built is smaller than the one in Coboconk. It has not been in use in many many years. It’s now an attraction for tourists. The town is called
Killarney Ontario. Roughly 120km outside of Sudbury Ontario. It could possibly be the smallest jail built in Canada.
Thank you for your story, Aaron. We launch the Killarney page too – https://www.1000towns.ca/killarney-ontario/. But there is no jail on the page. Could you tell us the address, and send the photo if possible? We will add the jail to the page. Thanks a lot for your help 🙂